Whitko Tennis Earns Tight Win Over Triton
September 6, 2019 at 3:21 a.m.
Whitko Tennis Earns Tight Win Over Triton
By Mark Howe-
The deception kicks in when one checks out the scores from the individual matches; the competition could have easily swung in the Wildcats’ favor.
“It was a lot closer than what the score shows,” Triton head coach Allen Peckham said. “There were a couple of three-setters there and a tie-breaker.”
Triton’s Jared Bules and Tyler Heckaman dropped a first-set tiebreaker at No. 1 doubles before coming back to beat Devon Akers and Jackson Hollenbaugh 6-7, 6-2, 6-2. Connor Large won a first-set tiebreaker on his way to a 7-6, 6-2 win over Whitko’s Aiden Hoffman at No. 2 singles.
The Trojans (4-4) won in straight sets at No. 1 singles, where John Gardner downed David Ousley 6-1, 6-3; and at No. 2 doubles, with Cole McKinney and Chandler Westafer taking a 6-1, 6-3 win over Kaige Michael and Jonathon Strayer.
At No. 3 singles, Whitko’s Bryce Tucker dropped the first set before winning a tight match 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 over the Trojans’ Gavin Greer.
“Whitko (now 2-3) was much improved from the last time we played them two years ago. It was a good test,” Peckham said. “The last time we played them, we won pretty handily. I didn’t really know what to expect this year, but they came out and played well.”
The Trojan coach said it was good to play a tight match, and his team’s experience this season may have made a difference.
“It helps with pressure situations. When it’s close, every point is a little more important. Sometimes it helps to test your nerves and build your confidence. I thought having played a few more matches this season gave us a little bit of an edge tonight.”
For Whitko, Thursday’s match concluded a long week, especially for the week following a holiday. Tuesday’s match with Wawasee was rained out, and the Wildcats hosted Fort Wayne Northrop Wednesday.
There were, on occasion, times when the Wildcats took a moment to redirect themselves and focus on the task at hand.
“There definitely was some frustration afterward,” said Wildcat head coach Victoria Cornell. “It’s been a long week, and they felt like they could have played better. Triton came to play, for sure, so give them a lot of credit.
“I told them there were some matches that could have gone differently, and we talked about some skills that we need to keep working on, keep building on, but we believe in the boys and we know they are getting better. We want to keep improving and keep our team goals and individual goals in front of us.”
Cornell said she was happy with the way her team kept its poise for the most part, and pursued one of its more important goals.
“One of the things we focused on afterward was the compliments we got on our sportsmanship,” she said. “One of our goals is to be gentlemen on the court as well as at school, so that something that we took away as a positive tonight.”
Triton will play a non-conference match at Bethany Christian in Goshen at 10 a.m. Saturday. Whitko will make up its match with Wawasee on Monday.
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The deception kicks in when one checks out the scores from the individual matches; the competition could have easily swung in the Wildcats’ favor.
“It was a lot closer than what the score shows,” Triton head coach Allen Peckham said. “There were a couple of three-setters there and a tie-breaker.”
Triton’s Jared Bules and Tyler Heckaman dropped a first-set tiebreaker at No. 1 doubles before coming back to beat Devon Akers and Jackson Hollenbaugh 6-7, 6-2, 6-2. Connor Large won a first-set tiebreaker on his way to a 7-6, 6-2 win over Whitko’s Aiden Hoffman at No. 2 singles.
The Trojans (4-4) won in straight sets at No. 1 singles, where John Gardner downed David Ousley 6-1, 6-3; and at No. 2 doubles, with Cole McKinney and Chandler Westafer taking a 6-1, 6-3 win over Kaige Michael and Jonathon Strayer.
At No. 3 singles, Whitko’s Bryce Tucker dropped the first set before winning a tight match 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 over the Trojans’ Gavin Greer.
“Whitko (now 2-3) was much improved from the last time we played them two years ago. It was a good test,” Peckham said. “The last time we played them, we won pretty handily. I didn’t really know what to expect this year, but they came out and played well.”
The Trojan coach said it was good to play a tight match, and his team’s experience this season may have made a difference.
“It helps with pressure situations. When it’s close, every point is a little more important. Sometimes it helps to test your nerves and build your confidence. I thought having played a few more matches this season gave us a little bit of an edge tonight.”
For Whitko, Thursday’s match concluded a long week, especially for the week following a holiday. Tuesday’s match with Wawasee was rained out, and the Wildcats hosted Fort Wayne Northrop Wednesday.
There were, on occasion, times when the Wildcats took a moment to redirect themselves and focus on the task at hand.
“There definitely was some frustration afterward,” said Wildcat head coach Victoria Cornell. “It’s been a long week, and they felt like they could have played better. Triton came to play, for sure, so give them a lot of credit.
“I told them there were some matches that could have gone differently, and we talked about some skills that we need to keep working on, keep building on, but we believe in the boys and we know they are getting better. We want to keep improving and keep our team goals and individual goals in front of us.”
Cornell said she was happy with the way her team kept its poise for the most part, and pursued one of its more important goals.
“One of the things we focused on afterward was the compliments we got on our sportsmanship,” she said. “One of our goals is to be gentlemen on the court as well as at school, so that something that we took away as a positive tonight.”
Triton will play a non-conference match at Bethany Christian in Goshen at 10 a.m. Saturday. Whitko will make up its match with Wawasee on Monday.
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